As everyone knows, your due date was Saturday, September 6. The couple of weeks leading up to your due date, I kept telling everyone that I was SO ready to give birth to you because my tummy was HUMONGOUS, and I was so uncomfortable I could hardly move. My feet were swollen like sausages, I couldn’t find a comfortable position to sleep, my back hurt, my boobs hurt, and every time I ate something, I got really bad reflux. I thought for SURE that you’d decide to join us early, because for the three weeks before your due date, I was dilated to 5 centimeters (!!!), and my doctor told me that once I started having contractions, I’d probably have a really fast labor because my body was “clearly ready to go”. Your Nina even changed her plane ticket so that she could come from New Mexico earlier in case you were born before your due date!
So when September 6 came and went, you can imagine my confusion (and frustration)! Every day past your due date, I kept talking to you, asking you to come on out and see us, but like both of your parents, you were being stubborn and decided to stay where you were. My doctor told me that if you weren’t born by 41 weeks (1 week after your due date), they’d schedule an induction for Saturday, September 13.
On Friday night, September 12, your daddy, your Nina, and I were eating dinner (with pumpkin ice cream for dessert- yum!) and watching the show “Are you Smarter Than A 5th Grader?”. I noticed that I was having some mild contractions, but wrote them off as just typical Braxton Hicks contractions, and not “real” labor contractions. But then starting at around 8:30pm, they started happening closer together and your daddy started keepimg track of how often they happenned and how long they lasted. Still, I thought they weren’t real contractions because they didn't hurt like I thought they were supposed to!
By 9:30 the contractions were coming every 10 minutes, so I decided to call the doctor on-call at the hospital. When I told him I was having contractions and was 5 cm dilated, he said "get here right away!". So we grabbed our hospital bag, hopped in the car and off we went!
We arrived at hospital at 11:35pm where we met up with our doula (we called her on the way to the hospital) and spent 1 hour in triage, where they strapped on a monitor and they discovered that the contractions actually slowed down. We were given the choice of going home and coming back the next morning for the induction as scheduled, or just going ahead with the induction right then, since we were already there. That wasn't a very tough decision :).
We arrived at the birth suite around 1am on Saturday (September 13), and at 2am, they started a pitocin drip and broke my bag of waters. When the bag of water was broken, the doctor noted that the amniotic fluid was slightly greenish, indicating prescence of meconium (this is when babies poop inside the uterus, which is a sign that a baby is in distress). When I heard that, I got really nervous because if a baby inhales the meconium during birth, it can prevent breathing and/or lead to a life-threatening lung infection. So I knew that right after you were born, they would have to whiak you off to the neonatal team right away so that they could suction out your lungs.
At 3am, I, your Dad, your Nina and our doula took a walk around the hospital floor for a while. By 4am, I wanted to go back to the room because I was getting really uncomfortable. By 4:30, my contractions were much stronger, and your daddy noticed that I was breathing a lot harder and needing some quiet when they happened. When they checked my cervix, It was still at 5cm, but had gone from 50% to 80% effaced.
By 6am, the contractions were coming on REALLY strong, and they seemed to go from very manageable to extremely painful. Everyone was trying to help me breathe, but it was difficult because when contractions are induced with pitocin, they are a lot harder and more painful then when they happen naturally. I remember gripping your daddy's hands and saying "oh, God, help me" with every contraction. Still, I was determined to have a natural birth without pain medication, and I was doing my best to stay focused.
A little later, my body started shaking and I couldn't control it. Our doula said it was a normal reaction to the pain and muscle tension. The contractions at this point were so strong that I couldn't stop crying. My back hurt so much I couldn't move (we later found out that it was because you were turned the wrong way, so all the pressure was going to my back). When they checked my cervix again, I thought for SURE I was at 8-10 centimeters because with that much pain there was no way I couldn't have progressed that much. But of course I was wrong! I hadn't progressed AT ALL- I was still 5 cm. At that point, I knew I needed an epidural- I was already exhausted from all the pain. So, reluctantly, I called for the anesthesiologist.
At 6:45, the epidural was administered, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (watching all the videos of it in our childbirth classes freaked me out)! After 20 minutes, I barely felt the contractions and I could relax and breathe normally again. I told your daddy that whoever invented the epidural deserves a Nobel Prize!
At 9:30am, the cervical check indicated that I was 8cm dilated and 100% effaced. By 10:30, I was at 9cm and had bloody show (this meant you were on your way!). I don't remember much of what happenned around this time (I think because I was so tired and focused on what I needed to do), so it's a good thing your daddy was keeping track of everything that happenned. Below is an excerpt from his notes:
11am
Mom getting very hot, applying cold towels to cool her down. Nurse also mounted a fan close to Mom so she could cool off. Mom is complaining of nausea.
1pm
Mom not feeling well, vomits twice and feels better. Dr Johannsen comes in and says that Mom might be completely dilated. Nurse Sheryl doesn’t agree, does a full (painful) cervical exam. For a brief period, the consensus is that we may need to do a C- Section. An electrode is placed on the baby’s head (which will later result in a scratch when she is born) to help monitor heartrate, this really helped because the earlier heart rate readings were being confused with Mom’s. Once we are focused just on baby’s, they are much stronger. The worry had been that with a slow heart rate, the baby might be too tired to make her way down. Even though the contractions are not as hard as they would want, from 60-80 when they are 40-60, Dr. Johannsen wants Mom to try and push. Mom’s pitocin drip is increased to help with the pushing.
2pm
Mom starts to push, with the help of Sheryl, Barb (the doula), Dad, and Nina. Mom has to push from above, hold her legs up high and wide, and push for 3 sets of 10 seconds each.
4:30pm
After 2 ½ hours of pushing, Dr Johanssen returns and says that if Sophia isn’t born by 5, she is bringing the vacuum. Mom tries a few more hard pushes. Sophia’s head is visible during the pushes, and then disappears. She doesn’t quite crown.
5pm
Dr comes in with the vacuum. She also has paged the NICU team because of the meconium. She attaches the vacuum to the baby's head and does 4 strong pulls.
5:11pm
Sophia is born! She has chubby cheeks, big eyes hands and feet, and is grey and purple when she is born. She also has a head of dark, curly hair. Dr J delivers the head and shoulders, Dad gets to help with the delivery of the back and bottom. Sophia starts to cry before the NICU team can extract from the lungs. She is quickly whisked to the warmer where she is extracted and cleaned up. Mom and Nina are so happy they are holding each other and crying. Sophia is placed on the scale, 8lbs and 9ozs, with an APGAR score of 9. She is cleaned up (she had pooped on the nurse!), swaddled, and placed on Mom’s chest for some bonding time. Mom had a tier 2 tear, which was sewn up while Mom was bonding with Sophia.
(end of Daddy's notes)
I have to say, kiddo, your daddy was an incredible support coach throughout your birth. Even though he hadn't slept for almost 36 hours, he kept me going and helped me stay focused. He was SO excited that he got to help with your delivery. Your Nina kept crying whenever I felt pain, but by the time I started to push, she was right there holding one of my legs and helping me count (that is, when she wasn't answering her phone when your aunts and uncles and cousins were calling! Everyone was so anxious to hear if you had been born yet!). And although I don't remember alot of the specifics after getting the epidural, I do remember very vividly holding you in my arms, looking into your eyes, playing with your little fingers and toes, and thinking to myself that I am the luckiest woman on Earth because I get to be your mom.
Welcome to the world, my precious baby girl. :)
Love,
Mama
P.S. Here are a couple of pictures taken right after you were born! :
